


Let the Games Begin

by bansheequeen (queenbanshee), xtremeroswellian



Series: Moving Targets [20]
Category: Smallville
Genre: Banter, Celebrations, F/M, Families of Choice, Flirting, Fourth of July, Friendship, Holidays, Humor, Ice Cream, Mia adores Oliver, Oliver adores Mia, Teasing, heart to heart conversations
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-17
Updated: 2020-05-17
Packaged: 2021-03-03 05:34:59
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,504
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24239620
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/queenbanshee/pseuds/bansheequeen, https://archiveofourown.org/users/xtremeroswellian/pseuds/xtremeroswellian
Summary: It’s forth of July and the team is enjoying a quiet holiday in Star City, but their quiet time won’t last long.
Relationships: Chloe Sullivan & Mia Dearden, Dinah Lance/Arthur Curry, Oliver Queen & Mia Dearden, Oliver Queen/Chloe Sullivan
Series: Moving Targets [20]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1748179
Kudos: 1





	1. Chapter 1

**Headquarters -- Star City -- July 4, 2011**

"Where the hell is the rest of the ice I bought?" AC demanded as he stared into the freezer as if suddenly said ice would appear from out of nowhere.

Oliver barely glanced up from where he was peeling potatoes at the kitchen table. "It's outside, already in the cooler. Dinah got it a few minutes ago," he informed him.

"Oh. Thanks." He headed out the backdoor, leaving Oliver alone once more.

A small smile tugged at his mouth and he shook his head as he finished peeling the potato he'd been holding. He blew out a breath and looked around the kitchen. It had taken him weeks, but he was finally almost back to normal as far as healing went. He wasn't back on active patrol yet, but he was planning to be in the very near future. He picked up the knife and began to cut the potatoes into small, square-ish pieces.

It had been almost two months since they'd been in France visiting their "informant" who had turned out to be none other than Lana Lang-Ross and her husband Pete, but he and Pete had been keeping in touch on an almost daily basis via email, and occasional texts. Lana was doing quite a bit better. In fact, she was up and actually walking for the first time in weeks. The dialysis treatments that Dr. Hamilton had arranged were definitely doing some good. According to Hamilton, Lana had at least a year and a half as long as the treatments continued to work. It wouldn't heal her permanently, but it gave the other man some time to work on finding a more permanent solution, at least.

The time had flown by.

Mia had officially graduated from high school at the end of May, for which they'd taken a couple of days off and taken her to Disney World in Florida. It was what she'd wanted, after they'd finally managed to drag some ideas out of her.

And they hadn't heard a word from either Tess Mercer or Lex Luthor.

Oliver drew in a breath and let it out slowly, trying to ignore the sense of dread he couldn't help but feeling anytime he thought about either of them.

Today wasn't the day for that.

Today was the Fourth of July and it was about family and celebration and having a good, _normal_ time. Because as much as they all loved what they did, they all needed some downtime on occasion.

"Okay," Chloe told him as she entered the kitchen, "everyone is already at the pool, Vic is already starting the grill, what do I have to do to help you so we can go join them?" She asked him, walking over to the counter already wearing her swimsuit and a dress over it.

Oliver raised an eyebrow at her and grinned. "Not a thing. You go ahead."

She rolled her eyes and gave him a look, "you really think I'm gonna go join them and leave you here, working all by yourself?"

"Yep." He smirked, focusing on slicing the potatoes. "Seriously, I'm just making some potato salad and I'll be out."

"Well," she propped herself up and sat down on the counter, smirking at him, "I'll watch."

At that, Oliver paused and looked up at her, a mischievous expression on his face. "You like to watch, huh?"

Chloe didn't back down, now that he was allowed _some_ physical activities again, she didn't have to, because if they worked themselves up too much, she would just drag him upstairs for a while and they could take care of it. Smirking, she cocked her head, "I like to watch _you_."

His smirk widened. "Well, that's news to me," he informed her.

She grinned brightly and raised her eyebrows, shrugging innocently, "besides, you're hot when you cook."

He chuckled involuntarily at the look on her face. "Because I'm me or because I'm a guy and I can actually cook?" he teased.

"What do you think?" She asked, cocking her head a little.

"Both," Oliver answered with a knowing grin.

Rolling her eyes, she shook her head, "nope, wrong answer." She told him.

"Does that mean I don't get a prize?"

"That's exactly what it means, Mr. Queen," she said, then pursed her lips together and smirked at him.

Oliver frowned. "This game sucks."

She laughed at that, "maybe you need to learn how to play, then."

He rose to his feet, setting the bowl of potatoes aside and moving over to where she sat on the counter top, a smirk on his face. "I don't like playing by the rules," he informed her, resting his hands on her hips and pulling her forward just enough that he could kiss her.

Chloe let him pull her forward but pulled her head back, biting down on her bottom lip, "you can't break the rules on your own."

"Wouldn't want to. That's not _nearly_ as much fun." Oliver smirked, sliding his hand to rest on her thigh.

She glanced down at his hands and smirked back, slowly raising her eyes back to his face, "what are you going to do to convince me, then?"

His smirk widened at that. "Well, I was thinking about sweeping you off this counter and carrying you upstairs to bed for the next hour or so."

"Hm, I don't know, Ollie..." she glanced toward the back yard, "we do have a party to attend..."

Oliver leaned in and kissed her jaw very softly, his breath warm against her skin. "True."

Chloe shivered and took a deep breath, lifting her hands to his arms, "I don't think we will remain uninterrupted for that long."

"Probably right," he murmured, pressing a kiss to her throat next.

She shifted a hand from his arm to his chest and then his stomach, "they want food."

"They do," he agreed, teasing her shirt off one shoulder and kissing her there, his tongue darting out to taste her skin.

She took a deep breath and lifted her hands to his shoulders and pushed him away, smirking mischievously, "guess we better hurry, then."

"Guess so." Oliver circled her waist with his arms and pulled her off the counter, smirking back at her, his eyes glittering with amusement.

Once she was on the ground, she grinned at him and took his hand then started dragging him out of the kitchen.

He grinned and followed her without hesitation.

* * *

A little over an hour later, Chloe was finally getting redressed so they could join the party, "so... chances that they actually noticed we were gone?" She asked him, now that they had to go face the majority of their friends, she was a little embarrassed because she had no doubt that most of them would know exactly where they'd been.

Oliver smirked. "Pretty high?" he guessed, slipping an arm around her waist as they started out of the bedroom together.

She made a face and nodded, then smirked, "yeah, with that look on your face, even if they didn't notice, they will know right away."

"Not to mention your glow," he teased, nuzzling his nose against her cheek.

"Glow? What glow? I don't know what you're talking about," she told him, wrapping an arm around him.

"That's because you're not looking in the mirror, Professor." His voice was light as they walked down the steps.

She grinned softly and stopped a step above him then leaned in and kissed him softly.

Oliver returned the kiss, resting one hand on her hip and the other on the small of her back. After a moment, he leaned his forehead against hers, growing still. "I love you so much," he murmured. "You know that, right?"

Chloe wrapped her arms around his neck and smiled, "I know," she said easily in a whisper, "I love you too, Ollie. A lot."

That was a great start in his opinion. He smiled back softly, gazing at her. "Listen. I've been doing a lot of thinking lately and--"

"Yeah?" She asked, frowning a little, even though she was still smiling and cocking her head.

"Planning on joining us anytime soon?" Dinah asked from the bottom of the stairs, smirking as she looked up at the couple.

He had to resist the urge to groan as he turned to look at her. "Maybe. Maybe not," he responded.

"I won't be held responsible if all the food is gone," her smirk widened and she continued on her way back to the pool.

Chloe blushed faintly and grinned a little, kissing Ollie's cheek and reaching for his hand, "c'mon, I'm starving."

Oliver scowled at Dinah's retreating figure even as he laced his fingers through Chloe's. "All right."

She paused at the look on Ollie's face, "are you okay?"

He glanced at her and smiled a bit, shrugging. "Yeah, I'm fine. Let's get some food."

Chloe squeezed his hand and looked up at him, smiling softly as they made their way down the stairs.

So the timing had been off anyway, he reasoned as they headed outside.

Next time it would be perfect.

* * *

Chloe stepped out of the pool and wrapped the towel around herself as she walked over to the long table that had been set outside with a lot of food, "okay," she said, taking the seat on the bench next to Ollie's, "do we still have hot dogs?"

He scooted his plate over in front of her and grinned. "Saved you one."

She grinned back at him and leaned closer, kissing his cheek, "thank you."

Mia watched the two of them and smirked, rolling her eyes a little. "I told you we should have bought more, Bart ate like half of them."

At that, Bart grinned and shrugged, "I need my energy, chica, I can go buy you more if you need me to."

"You mean you'll go _get_ more with Ollie's money," AC corrected him with a smirk.

"Man, everything we buy is with Ollie's money, he pays us, so it doesn't matter." Bart said with a grin.

"Semantics." Vic shook his head and leaned back in his chair, smiling as he closed his eyes.

Oliver smiled a bit. "Does anyone _want_ more hot dogs?" he asked, glancing over at Dinah, then back at Chloe and Mia.

"I'll be good with this one," Chloe told Ollie, then looked around.

Dinah considered, "if we're gonna spend the rest of the day out here, it might not be a bad idea to get more so we can have it when people start getting hungry again."

"We should get burgers if we're just gonna grill dinner too," Mia said with a shrug, sipping on her soda.

"Burgers, hot dogs...what else?" AC tilted his head a little, leaning back in his chair and taking a long drink of water.

"Beer," Vic suggested.

"Good choice," he agreed with a grin.

"Ice cream, rocky road," Chloe added before taking a bite of her hot dog.

Mia smirked at that and nodded, raising her eyebrows, "I'll second that since I know you won't let me have Vic's suggestion."

Oliver smirked back at her. "Extra ice cream for Mia since she's right about that."

AC chuckled.

Bart stood up and smirked, "I'll go, anyone else coming?"

"Unless I'm needed, I'm staying," Chloe said, adjusting on her seat.

Mia shrugged, "I guess I could leave the house for a while."

"Pass," Oliver told him.

"I'll come," Vic volunteered. "Might need help carrying the cartons of ice cream," he teased, glancing over at Mia.

"Between you and Bart, I'm not carrying a damn thing," Mia informed him, grinning brightly as she stood up too.

Dinah smirked and nodded, "that's the spirit."

Oliver grinned, as well. "Don't be too long. Might have to have that game of water basketball without you."

Bart smirked at that, "only way you'd win, bossman."

"C'mon," Mia called, "I'm driving." She told them as she started back inside the house.

"Oh, whatever," he called after Bart, frowning a little and looking at Chloe.

AC chuckled at his expression. "Dude, you pout more than Mia."

Chloe laughed softly and wrapped her arm around Ollie, grinning softly up at him, "it's true." She lifted her hand and held on to his face, making him pout more, "but look how cute he is when he pouts."

At that, Dinah smirked and rolled her eyes, "looks like someone will have to get a room _again_ soon."

Oliver scowled at Dinah and AC. "Sounds like _someone_ is jealous," he responded.

"Hardly. We're doing just fine." AC grinned, glancing at Dinah.

"Nothing to be jealous of," Dinah assured Ollie and smirked at him.

Raising her eyebrows, Chloe patted Ollie's leg then went back to her hot dog, she had the feeling he was more annoyed than usual since they came downstairs, but she hadn't been able to talk to him about it.

He forced himself to take a deep breath and rolled his eyes playfully. "Yeah, yeah. Let's keep the details to ourselves. There is such a thing as knowing too much about your friends."

"Weren't we gonna go to the beach for a while?" Dinah said, standing up.

AC nodded. "Yeah, I could use a swim in the ocean," he agreed, rising to his feet.

Oliver smirked and raised an eyebrow. "Have fun."

Chloe watched as they made their way over to the gate that led to the beach then looked over at Ollie, now that they were alone, she didn't have to hide her concern, "are you okay?"

He blinked a couple of times and turned to look at her. "Yeah, why?"

"You just seem a little tense," she said, studying him close.

He paused at that, then offered her a soft smile, shrugged. "I'm all right," he assured her, reaching out and taking her hand in his. He kissed her knuckles softly.

She couldn't help but smile at that, squeezing his hand softly she nodded at the pool, "c'mon, let's get in the water, it's too hot."

Oliver leaned over and kissed her cheek. "You first, Professor."

Chloe watched him for a moment then stood up, smiling softly at him then dropping her towel on one of the empty chairs, glancing at him over her shoulder before diving in.

He watched her, a smile on his face as he shook his head and rose to his feet.

Then he jumped in after her.


	2. Chapter 2

**Headquarters , Star City -- July 6, 2011**

Mia was in the training room, now that she didn't have classes, she had been training and patrolling a lot more, she was definitely not looking forward for classes to start again, she loved being a part of the team like this and not have to worry about homework and all the boring things that really weren't going to be any help when she graduated.

She got another arrow right in the bullseye and grinned, " _awesome_."

Oliver leaned against the door frame and grinned. "You learned fast, grasshopper." His voice was light.

Mia turned around to look at him and smirked, "I will have to start teaching you tricks soon."

He lifted an eyebrow. "Don't get _too_ cocky, Kid."

"Not getting cocky," she told him, lowering her bow, "just speaking the truth, you're better than that douchey mentor of yours now, obviously."

He paused at that, considering. "Maybe I'm just luckier," he said with a shrug, stepping into the room.

"Luckier?" Mia said, confused and frowning a little at him, "you mean you just hit the target because you're lucky?"

He smiled a bit, and shook his head. "I meant in the more general sense."

"What are you talking about?" She asked, now that she was pretty sure he wasn't just joking.

Oliver picked up his own bow that rested against the wall. "Vortigan was a master archer. I'm good, but even now I'm not sure my skill level is on par with his." He picked up an arrow, nocking it into the bow and aiming. "But Vortigan was completely alone." He let the arrow fly, and smiled faintly as the tip nestled in right beside her arrow to share the bullseye space.

"Who would wanna be around his bitter self anyway?" Mia asked, making a face, "he had some serious issues."

"He did," he agreed, nodding as he moved to the target and pulled the two arrows free. "But who doesn't?" His voice grew a little softer.

"You definitely do," Mia told him, watching him and pursing her lips together.

At that, he turned and smirked at her. "Thanks, Speedy," he said wryly.

"No, seriously," she told him, raising her eyebrows, "you've been all snappy again, almost like when you _weren't_ getting laid."

Oliver opened his mouth to protest, then just stared at her, dumbfounded.

Mia just raised her eyebrows and looked at him, waiting for an answer.

He stared at her a moment longer, then sighed and walked over to the door to the training room, shutting it. "I'm sorry. I don't mean to be," he said honestly.

"Why are you, then?" Mia asked curiously, watching him, "I mean it's not all the time and it's never with me or Chloe, but the others are wondering..."

Oliver rubbed a hand over the back of his neck and met her eyes. "Truth?" He drew in a breath and let it out slowly. "I'm...a little nervous because...I'm going to ask Chloe to marry me." His voice was quiet.

Mia's eyes widened instantly and she stared at him, "you... are?"

He nodded a little, offering her a small, faint smile. "I actually tried to on the Fourth and Dinah interrupted us," he confessed.

She frowned at that and shook her head a little, "you're just gonna ask like that?"

He paused. "I think it's going to be a shock no matter how I ask."

"Aren't you supposed to do something like," she paused for a roll of her eyes, " _romantic_?"

Oliver raised an eyebrow at her. "You have a better suggestion?" 

She shrugged and frowned at him, "I don't know, I don't know what kind of stuff Chloe likes," she told him, "but instead of being pissy you could just take her out to dinner and do it when you can't get interrupted."

He sighed softly. "I tried that last night. We didn't even make it to the restaurant before AC texted about the drug bust on the other side of town."

"Oh..." she frowned a little and shrugged, "I don't know, then."

"Me either," he admitted, picking up his bow once more. "I'm just...frustrated, I guess." He fired an arrow at the target.

Mia watched the arrow for a moment then picked up her own bow, "maybe it's not time."

He paused, watching her as she prepared to shoot the arrow. "What if it never is?" he asked quietly.

She paused and gave him a look, "yeah, right."

"No, I mean it," he said seriously, frowning. "What if things just keep coming up? I mean if it's not Lex, there's a drug cartel on the other side of town. Or another alien invasion. Or some crazed lunatic trying to take over the world. What if the timing is never right, Mia?" He shook his head, exhaling slowly and watching the target.

Mia grinned a little at that, "then you do it in the middle of the battle like Pirates of the Caribbean."

A small smile tugged at his mouth. "How's _that_ for romantic?" He aimed his bow and arrow once more.

She aimed and waited just as he let go of his arrow, she did too, hitting it out of the way so only hers would hit the target, "it's heroic or something."

"Cheater," he teased, going to pick up his own arrow. "Well, that didn't work out so great for us the last time."

That made her pause and she frowned at him, "what do you mean?"

"Remember our not-so-friendly robots that trapped me in the vent ducts?" he asked, glancing over at her.

"...Yeah," she said with a frown.

"I was on a walkie-talkie with Chloe at the time. I thought I was going to die," he confessed with a small smile. "It was the first time we ever said 'I love you'. And look how that turned out."

Mia made a face and rested her bow on the floor, nodding, "yeah, but you're over that now, right?"

"I am, but there's something to be said about learning from your mistakes the first time," he answered with a slight shrug.

"I'm sure you'll figure something out," Mia told him with a shrug.

"Well at least I have one vote of confidence." He smiled at her.

She rolled her eyes and gave him a look for a moment then picked up her bow and aimed, hitting the target once more dead in the center.

Oliver grinned. "I still can't believe how quick you picked this up." There was more than a hint of pride in his voice.

"I'm a natural," she told him, glancing at him and pursing her lips together.

"Yeah, you are," he agreed.

"So..." Mia started, uncomfortably as she nocked another arrow in place, "what happens when she says yes?"

He paused, watching her and noting the slight difference in her tone. "You mean how are things going to change around here?"

"Yeah," she told him, glancing at him before lifting her bow again.

Oliver thought about it for a moment. "Well, _if_ she says yes...she'll be changing her name. Or at least hyphenating it. In theory."

Mia lowered her bow and gave him a look, "you know what I mean."

"I'm not sure," he admitted. "But what I _am_ sure about is that you'll always be included in my life." He met her eyes. "And if we would happen to decide to get a place of our own, I want you to come with us."

"Do you think Chloe is gonna be okay with that?" She asked, raising her eyebrows a little.

"Absolutely," he said without hesitation, giving her a reassuring smile. "Chloe knows we're a package deal."

Mia relaxed a little and nodded, glancing at him, "and I guess you _will_ need a babysitter eventually."

He grinned at that. "Hopefully," he said with a nod.

Rolling her eyes, she shook her head and smiled at him, feeling a lot better now as she picked her bow and aimed for the target once more.

He watched her a moment longer, a soft smile on his face. "If we happen to have a girl, I hope she turns out as great as you," he told her, picking up his own bow.

Mia smiled then shook her head, "here we go, what did I tell you about being all mushy?"

"Shut up. You like it." He chuckled, letting an arrow fly and hitting the bullseye.

She just grinned and shook her head, aiming and narrowing her eyes a little as she hit the target right about his arrow.

"What do you say we spoil our dinner and go get some ice cream?" he suggested.

"I could use some ice cream," she agreed, immediately moving to the corner of the room to put her bow away.

Oliver smiled and set his bow down, as well. "I'm thinking double mint chocolate chip," he informed her.

"Peanut butter chocolate," she told him, making a face, "even your ice cream has to be green?"

He smirked, draping an arm around her shoulders. "No, but considering it's been my favorite since I was five and I'm allergic to anything with peanuts in it, I am sort of limited."

"You are not, you could have any of the fruit ones or chocolate without nuts," she informed him, giving him a look, "you like the mint one because it's green and I know it."

Oliver grinned brightly. "I have no idea what you're talking about, Mia. It's like you're speaking a foreign language."

"Yeah, whatever," she gave him a look again then smirked as they made their way out of the training room.


	3. Chapter 3

**Headquarters, Star City -- July 10, 2011**

Mia sat at the kitchen table, sighing as she flipped through various local college coursebooks. She still hadn't picked one, and she knew she was running out of time, but she just didn't know which one to pick. She slammed one shut and reached for another, picking up her glass of soda at the same time and taking a drink just as Chloe walked in.

Chloe raised her eyebrows when she heard the book being slammed, her attention going to it's cover for a moment then she smiled a little and turned to the coffee maker, starting it, "you don't have to pick just one, you know?" She said, her back to Mia.

"I don't?" Her eyebrows furrowed a little.

"Not really," Chloe told her, turning to face her, "you can pick three or four, apply to all of them, and decide what you want later. It's probably better if you do that anyway, in case you don't get your first choice, not that I think it will be a problem."

"Yeah, not with Ollie's money in the mix," Mia said with a small smirk.

"And your brain," she told Mia, smirking, "your grades are really good."

She shifted a little in her seat, shrugging. "I guess so."

"Do you have any idea what major you're going for?" Chloe asked, leaning back against the table the coffee maker was on.

"Not a clue." She bit her lip, glancing up at Chloe uncertainly. "This isn't even my idea. Ollie's making me."

"I have to agree with him," She told Mia, "besides, college is an experience."

She made a face. "Yeah, more boring classes and more pointless homework."

"Not necessarily and not if you find something you like," Chloe told her, "what about some kind of kinesiology major? You could even get your masters in it."

Mia considered for a moment. "Maybe."

"Or you could go for something like International Relations, or business, I'm sure Ollie would get you internships wherever you wanted." Chloe suggested.

"I guess I've just never really thought about it," she admitted, taking another sip of her drink. "I mean this isn't exactly where I figured I'd end up."

Chloe pursed her lips together at that and nodded a little, "if you really can't figure it out, you can always buy yourself some extra time and go to the community college and just get your basics out of the way until you know what you want."

Mia nodded a little. "And stay here. I mean, instead of living at some dorm with a bunch of annoying, hyper girls."

"Dorm life isn't _that_ bad..." Chloe smirked, "besides, here you still get to live with a bunch of annoying, hyper superheroes."

She smirked back at her. "Yeah, but somehow hyper superheroes are much less annoying than most people."

"That's because you are friends with them," she assured Mia, "once you become friends with at least some of the girls, they won't be annoying and then, you can talk to them about how annoying the other ones are."

Mia looked down at the table. "I don't want to leave," she admitted.

Chloe looked at her and walked over to the table, "you don't have to," Chloe assured her, sitting down on the chair next to Mia's, "Star City has a couple of universities and colleges and even UCLA wouldn't be that bad a commute." She told her, Chloe had been doing her own research since Mia started looking into the college stuff.

She relaxed a little, nodding slightly and studying Chloe for a moment. "That's true."

Smiling softly, Chloe nodded, watching Mia, "I know the whole college thing is scary and takes a lot of research, and that is kind of my specialty, so if you need help, all you have to do is ask."

Mia smiled a little. "Thanks." She paused, falling silent for a moment. "So, how's everything going with you?"

Chloe raised her eyebrows, a little surprised at the question but smiled anyway, "not bad," she told Mia sincerely, "it would be even better if we had solved the one problem, but at least we can enjoy the quiet while it lasts."

"You mean if Lex was mindwiped and drooling in a ward in Gotham," Mia responded, nodding in agreement.

Wincing a little, Chloe nodded and pursed her lips together, "that's pretty much exactly what I mean."

"Ollie said we can't kill him." She wrapped her arms around her knees.

"There isn't a point in doing it," Chloe told her, taking a deep breath, "we don't know how he got back the first time around and if he has the technology to bring Tess back, it's only a matter of time before one of his minions brings him back too."

Mia sighed. "Right. I didn't think about _that_." 

Nodding, she moved to stand up and check on the coffee, "it's always tricky with Lex," Chloe told Mia, "we have to think of all possible scenarios and right now, a cell in Arkham with Batman personally making sure he's not going anywhere is the best we have."

"What if his minions break him out of it?"

"It's pretty much impossible to break out of Arkham." Chloe told her, "and with someone like Lex Luthor, they will have extra security on him," she turned for the cupboard, "do you want iced coffee?"

"Sure." Mia's eyes lit up at the suggestion.

Chloe smiled at Mia and nodded a little, taking two glasses and filling them with ice before walking over to the coffee maker again and preparing them, not turning around until both glasses had a lot of whipped cream on top. "Here you go," she told Mia, walking over to the table and handing her one of the glasses.

She smiled and took the glass from Chloe, taking a drink. "Can I ask you something?"

"Go ahead," Chloe said as she sat back down on the same chair.

Mia cocked her head to one side, watching her for a minute. "Is Ollie 'the one'?" she asked, making quotation marks with her fingers.

Blinking, Chloe raised her eyebrows and she was very glad she wasn't drinking her coffee yet because she _would_ have choked on it if she had been, "oh," she paused and pursed her lips together. She knew the answer to the question, voicing it was the problem, especially when she didn't know how to word it, "... yeah? I mean, yes."

An amused smile touched the younger girl's lips. "Good."

Chloe watched Mia for a moment, her stomach a little tight because of the question. Sure, she loved Ollie and she didn't want to be with anyone else and she knew that the two of them worked incredibly well together and there was no doubt in her mind that she could spend the rest of her life with him because no one would get her the way he does, but still, _talking_ about it, especially with Mia. That was a whole other story, "why do you ask?" She asked, doing her best to seem relaxed as she picked up a dollop of cream on her finger and ate it.

Mia shrugged a little. "Curiosity, I guess," she said nonchalantly. If there was one thing she was good at besides archery, it was lying. "Never really bought into any of that fairytale stuff growing up, but you and Ollie seem happy. And Dinah and AC."

"Yeah..." Chloe took a deep breath and shrugged a little, "this whole relationship thing isn't my forte, and honestly, it still scares me, but I'm glad Ollie didn't give up on me and let me work through my issues to get where we are now."

She studied Chloe for a moment. "Well, if there's one thing I know it's that Ollie's a solid guy. He's always there when you need him." She chewed on her lower lip for a minute. "And when you think you don't."

Chloe couldn't help but smile at that, she nodded a little, "yeah, I know." She sipped on her coffee then placed her glass back down, "he's one of the good guys in every way I can think of."

"Yeah, let's face it. How many guys--even good ones--are going to take a teenage hooker off the streets and not ask for _anything_ in return?" Mia sipped her coffee.

Blinking at Mia's bluntness, Chloe pursed her lips together for a moment, "good thing he did, too," she told Mia, "having you around makes him even better."

She arched an eyebrow at that. "Well, between you and me, we keep him in line." She grinned.

Chloe grinned softly and nodded, raising her eyebrows, "yep, it's a team effort."

"What's a team effort?" Oliver asked as he stepped into the room, heading toward the refrigerator.

Smirking, Chloe glanced over at him then back at Mia, "none of your business, Mr. Queen."

"What she said." Mia smirked, too.

Oliver rolled his eyes. "Typical."

With a grin, Chloe leaned back against her chair and sipped on her coffee, relaxing a little.

He shook his head, pouring himself a glass of orange juice and joining them at the table. "So given the fact that it's late in the day and you're both drinking coffee that looks like it has more sugar in it than a Krispy Kreme, I'm guessing it's going to be a late night." He smirked.

Mia grinned. "Like you'd have it any other way, Arrow."

"We need our energy for tonight's patrol," Chloe pointed out, smirking.

"You know what's even better than caffeine for energy?" he asked, raising his eyebrows.

Mia rolled her eyes. "Yes, yes, oh yoga master."

"All yoga in the world will not provide me with enough energy, besides, that would require patience." Chloe said, giving Ollie a pointed look.

He smirked at her. "Something that neither of you have in abundance."

" _Exactly_ ," Chloe told him with a smile before sipping on her coffee again.

Mia smirked and rose to her feet, finishing off her coffee. "Well, I'm just going to leave you two lovebirds alone. Don't do anything I wouldn't do." She put her mug in the sink and headed out of the kitchen.

Smiling, Chloe shook her head a little and sat back.

Oliver watched her go, amusement twinkling in his brown eyes. "She's something else, isn't she?"

"Yeah," Chloe agreed, turning to look at him and smiling, "and the amount of respect and adoration she has for you is nice to see."

He smiled softly, taking a drink of his juice and leaning back in his chair. "She's a great kid," he said softly.

"Yeah, she is," she told him, smiling softly.

Oliver watched her for a moment. "I'm really glad that the two of you have gotten closer," he admitted.

Chloe sipped on her coffee and nodded, "me too, but she was just protecting you before, Ollie."

"I know she was," he said softly. "Which is kind of ironic considering I'm the one who's supposed to be protecting _her_."

Rolling her eyes, she shook her head and smiled, "it goes both ways, and honestly, I'm glad I have help looking out for you."

He arched an eyebrow at her. "Are you trying to tell me you think I get in too much trouble?"

"No, never..." she told him, smiling innocently and standing up.

Oliver chuckled. "Uh huh. That was almost convincing," he teased.

Chloe walked over to the sink to place her empty glass in it and smiled up at him, pressing a kiss to his cheek on the way, "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Whatever you say, Professor." He smirked, rising to his feet and moving up behind her at the sink, setting his own glass inside and sliding his arms around her waist. He pressed a kiss to her neck, then rested his chin on her shoulder.

She paused and shivered, cocking her head a little as she tried to look at him while placing her hands over his arms, "hi."

"Hi," he murmured against her ear, kissing her there softly, too.

Chloe smiled and turned in his arms so her back was to the sink, her arms wrapping around his neck as she smiled up at him.

Oliver smiled back at her as he met her eyes. Then he dipped his head to kiss her softly on the mouth, his nose brushing against hers.

She returned the kiss, standing on her tiptoes as her fingers slid into his hair.

He slid a hand down to rest at the small of her back, the other lifting to touch her cheek. "I love you," he whispered.

With a smile, she leaned into his touch and pressed a kiss to his palm, "I love you too," she told him, he had spent most of the day at Queen Industries and she felt like she hadn't seen him in forever.

Oliver's eyes softened at her actions, and he kissed her once more. "Listen," he murmured. "There's something I've been wanting to talk to you about for awhile now. Something that's been on my mind." He gazed at her intently.

"Okay?" She said quietly, watching him closely then frowning when his phone started ringing.

He groaned and dropped his head to his chest.

Chloe smiled a little and kissed his cheek, "go ahead and answer it, I'm not going anywhere," she promised.

He sighed, kissing her cheek in return and moving to the table to get his phone. "Hello?"

"Oliver..." a familiar voice spoke on the other end, "I think it's time for us to finally see each other again."

Oliver froze, his eyes widening a little at the sound of the other man's voice. "Lex."

Chloe stilled, pushing herself from the sink and walking over to him, her eyes wide too.

"I have already invited a few friends of yours..." Lex told him, "the girl... Mia, you call her? Should be joining me shortly."

His heart began to pound in his chest. "What have you done with her?" he demanded, looking at Chloe quickly before heading out of the kitchen and toward the stairs, freezing in his steps at the sight of the still-open front door.

With her chest tight, Chloe followed, 'her' could only mean Mia or Dinah.

"Don't you worry, Oliver. She's safe, and if you can find me within the next five hours, she will stay that way." He paused. "Time is running out." Lex said before hanging up.

"Son of a bitch!" Oliver heaved his phone across the room, his heart pounding heavily in his chest as he turned to face Chloe. "He has Mia."

Her eyes widened even more and she stared up at him, "get the others, I'll trace the call," she told him before running upstairs.

"Son of a bitch," he repeated, moving toward the stairs, as well, except his destination was to find the rest of the team.


End file.
